I was considering buying a mig welder and need some advice. Is a chicago electric dual gas/flux welder any good, part number 6271-4VGA on harbor freight? Any recommendations on a good welder? I plan to weld cab corners on my truck and weld a new cowl patch and quarter on my mustang.

 

I can't say anything about the HF/Chicago Electric welder as I have never used one. I have a Miller mig 185 and it is a name brand that is supported by many dealers nation wide but probably is higher cost than the CE. Most of my friends have Miller, Hobart, or Lincoln but one has an HTP and he likes it fine. All are 220V but if all you're going to do is sheet metal a 110V will probably be OK.

 

You get what you pay for. A brand-name unit will last nearly a lifetime, and you won't have to toss it when it needs a repair. They also have excellent resale value if you decide you're done with it.

 

I have a small 110v Lincoln Mig. Nice little unit, not too expensive. It wont weld the thick stuff, but seems great for smaller stuff. I use the gas, works great.

 

I have a Miller Synchrowave 180. I wouldn't trade it for my wife!! (don't tell her though)

Cheers,

Rick

 

On the plus side – I have several electrical tools made by Chicago-Electric and find them to be excellent quality. On the down side – getting parts and service for a Chicago Electric unit will be tougher than for a Miller/Hobart/Lincoln unit.

However, I looked at HF’s listing and it looks like the welder you’re looking at runs on 230 volt only. I don’t know if you have 230v in your garage but for welding sheet metal and up to ¼ inch steel, there are plenty of 115 volt units out there.

Additionally, while this unit is described as running with or without gas – nowhere does it actually say the regulator etc is included. That usually/always means it is not. So you’ll have to pay extra for that. I don’t see any such regulator/adaptor kit listed on the website either, so lotsa luck finding it.

Lastly, the duty cycle on this unit looks really lame.


You definitely want gas. I have tried to make do with a flux core welder for the past 2 yrs and it’s been a real pain. Welders are a lot more expensive up here, so I’m stuck with struggling along with my flux core or trucking my stuff out to where my son - the welder/bodyman works, as they have several really nice MIGs out there…..The spatter you get welding without gas is a major pain in the butt.

It doesn’t have the greatest duty cycle but check out the Hobart # 91886-3VGA for $549.99 Runs on 115V has the regulator, etc to handle gas. Will certainly do sheet metal and up to ¼ inch (in a single pass).

 

I have a Chicago Elec. mig , 230 volt. I 've been welding for many years, The C.E. welder works great for what it is, It will weld as nice as any of the big buck welders. Just remember the welder is only as good as the person using it. The high buck welders give you no advantage to the quality of the weld, what they will give you is ease of replacement parts,(I've needed none, except tips and nozels) and a longer duty cycle. For a hobby the C.E. welder works great. Now if your trying to make a living at it, you may want to spend the big bucks !!!
Mike

 

I have a Hobart 140 115V unit and am very pleased with it. Northern Tool sells it for just under 500.00 with free delivery and some times they throw in a free cart. Hobart is made by Miller and is a quality unit. Two things you really want is shielding gas setup included, as Fergy says flux core on sheet metal sucks and it will cost a lot more to add it later! You also want the unit to accept standard 8" spools of wire in at least .025 and .030 size so you have some choice in wire type. If it can only handle 4" mini spools of .030 you will be very restricted in wire choice and source (yes, size does make a difference!) you want to use .025 wire for sheet metal, and the best wire for sheetmetal, .025 ESAB EZ grind, only comes on 8" spools. The quality of the wire feed mechanism is what makes a MIG a pleasure or a pain to use. Duty cycle is a moot feature, no hobbyist is likely to exceed even a 20% duty cycle.

 

I have the C.E 6271-vga, it works great, it will accept the standard 8" (10lb) wire spool. It does not come with the regulator, but everything elce is set up for the gas. The regulator is approx $30 from H.F. then all you need is a tank of gas.
I've welded with Millers, Hobarts, Aircos, and Lincolns. I've been unable to note any difference in the feeding mech. It seems to feed nice and smooth. So far I've ran three and half 10lb spools of wire through my C.E. no problems.
I know its far from a high quality machine, but for the price you can't beat it.
The only thing I recommend is changing the power cord to maybe a 12ga. 20-30 ft cord so you can move it arround the shop. it draws 15 amps each side so 12ga works fine.
Just my thoughts and experience.
Good Luck
Mike

 

Thanks for the replies. Think i am going to pass on the Chicago and get one that comes set up for the gas already. Repair parts availablity is important to me as i have never had anything i didn't have to fix.

 

I have a Dayton 110V 85A Mig that works ok on small stuff. I used it to put the patch panels in my cab and fenders. I have been thinking of getting a Miller 220V 175 amp the 110V is just to small for any serious work. As far as the Harbor Freight units I just feel they are cheap crap I never heard anyone say they are really satisfied with one. Like the old saying goes you only get what you pay for

Rod 51F1

 

It appears that Miller has discontinued the Syncrowave 180SD and replaced it with the 200SD. I chose a GTAW unit (AKA TIG) because it is far more versatile than a wire feed type unit. Wirefeed units are very good, in fact excellent and MUCH better for doing a LOT of welding. This is useful if you're making repetitive welds like assembly line/production welding where you don't have to change the filler material often. It would take me years to use up a spool. I also like to do aluminum and stainless steel. I only have to change the tungsten and grab a different filler rod and step on the throttle!(well it's a *little* more complicated than that but not much)

Also if you don't have filler rod coming out you can always go back over a weld that, shall we say, got a LITTLE messed up!.....and "fix" it! You always have a second change to make another pass with no rod added.....to pretty it up. (Of course this NEVER happens to me!!)


The downside of the GTAW units are that they are expensive. Millers new Syncrowave 200SD is about $1700 delivered.(Excluding ARGON bottle ($180) and hood[$$])

 

I haven't run into anything I couldn't weld on my truck with my 115V Hobart 140, in fact I have not used the highest power setting but a couple times for non-truck related projects. If I had had 220V power available when I purchased my MIG I may have sprung for the 160-170 range machine, but I am not dissatisfied that I bought too small a machine. I also like the luggability of this unit since I had to work outside for over a year I could carry it out to the truck when I wanted to use it and carry it back inside when I was done, try that with any 220V unit. Now that I have a garage to work in and 220 available, I still am not looking to upgrade the 140.

 

I have a Lincoln 130 - 220volt- unit with gas. It works great for sheetmetal work but a little too small for the thicker chassis work.

Bruce

 

I doubt that the low duty cycle would be a problem if you're mostly welding sheetmetal. As for parts, well, welding machines are pretty basic technology; you can probably make ~something~ fit if HF can't get you any spare parts from China. I've got a German MIG of unknown brand (just says "K" on the front), but I'm confidant that whatever breaks I can replace somehow. A previous owner already put a more standard wire feed hose and gun on it.